Jiang's production company, Beijing Buyilehu Film Co., finished shooting last week in Beijing on his first film as a director since the controversial Cannes Grand Prix winner "Devils On the Doorstep" (2000), Emperor Motion Pictures said.

"We are absolutely delighted at finally concluding our negotiations," EMP chief executive Albert Lee said in a statement. "Jiang Wen is unquestionably one of the most brilliant Chinese filmmakers of his generation and, hopefully, 'The Sun Also Rises' will mark the first of many collaborations between us."

Jiang, 43, is perhaps best known outside China for his starring role opposite Gong Li in director Zhang Yimou's 1987 film "Red Sorghum."

Jiang made his directing debut with "In the Heat of the Sun," which won the Volpi Cup for its lead actor, Xia Yu, at the Venice International Film Festival in 1994.